I am new to MD having just purchased it this week. Things are progressing slowly and I have had some help on the official forums.

I am slightly worried that the forums are not very lively and there is a general lack of basic tutorials as well as the manual being very limited even when the topic does exist (too often it doesn't).

I like the software and will use it a lot and some people have been very helpful indeed but as I say I am somewhat concerned that the user base does not exist. I am basing this on the overall lack of tutorials and less than active forums.

There are a lot more MD users than you realize. The official MD forum isn't horribly popular, and not user friendly, so you won't see a lot over there.

If you want to hear what a professional CG artist has to say about MD and the people using it, you could listen to this webinar - http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/2 ... john-gotch According to these guys, MD is being used more now than ever and lots of professional studios are using it.

I created an application that has patterns and a book on MD here - https://patternmakerpro.com/. It's not free, but affordable. It could give you a jump start on learning.

I wouldn't be worried. The addition of MD to the professional pipeline seems to be progressing. Lots of hobbyists are using it for Daz and Poser and have for years. I don't think MD is going away. It is getting popular enough that we may get lucky and actually see some competitive products introduced!

Its a great addition to my design pipeline and by far and away the best in breed. I was just worried that it was 'on its last legs' given the lack of vibrant communities (always a tell tale sign).

BTW I read Ready Player One and really enjoyed it so thanks for the heads up.

I will soldier on with MD as I really enjoy it but a basics set of tutorials and a decent manual would help enormously. I had to ask today what strengthen does. Its not in the manual and doesn't seem to appear anywhere. Something like that is an issue. Just a more detailed manual and I would be very happy